I am just like every other Starbucks-obsessed college girl. There is no point in the day that I won’t say yes to a Starbucks run. It’s the perfect accessory to a day of studying or a long walk with a friend. My favorite drink, a hot chai tea latte, is special to me for a different reason. Every time I get a chai, I think of my best friend at home. When picking my college, I was amid my high school angst and wanted to get as far away from my hometown as possible. Unregretful about my decision, I brazenly packed up my belongings for my out-of-state school. My best friend begged me to let her come help move me in. There wasn’t any space in my car so she drove hours by herself just to come to help me settle in. We spent hours unloading all my belongings and attempting to make the cinderblock room appear cozy. After that, we decided to explore the campus. We walked around and daydreamed about all the opportunities and adventures I would have there. The tears began that night as she was about to leave. It was finally sinking in that she wouldn’t be an eight-minute drive away anymore. We prolonged the goodbye by hopping in her car and running to Starbucks for a chai. Chai tea lattes had carried us through all the tough days of high school. It yet again eased the goodbye and gave us something minor to take our minds off of anything that would induce more tears. We finally hugged goodbye with lots of promises of how much we were going to keep in touch and see each other. Unfortunately, we failed to keep these promises. Don’t get me wrong, we tried our best. But life got incredibly busy. I’m in nursing school and she’s in hair school. Both of us have backbreaking schedules. There have been many tear-filled nights missing my best friend and worrying about how I’m missing the important moments of her life. At the end of the day, we are still close. We have a weekly Facetime in our schedules for the necessary best friend debrief. However, she's not able to be there on the average hard day when I just need a hug. In those moments when I need good memories and to feel close to my long-distance best friend, I run to Starbucks and get my Chai latte. I can’t drink one without being filled with warm memories and reassurance. Chai allows me to feel close to my friend when she’s in a completely different state. Because of that, It will always be my favorite drink.

As someone who was homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade, I’ve received a heaping handful of raised eyebrows when saying that I want to become a nurse. “Are you sure? That’s a very challenging degree! You must be smart and dedicated for that kind of goal.” It’s as if people think I never learned anything throughout high school. I was simply faking it and lounging around in my comfy pajamas while the rest of the kids my age were getting smarter. The truth is that I credit my decision to pursue nursing school and my current 4.0 as a college sophomore to my homeschooling experience. I am grateful to my parents for all the educational opportunities I’ve been given. They guided me in a way that made me fall in love with the learning process while all my friends in the traditional school system were learning to resent it. From a very young age, I was allowed to be hands-on in picking the courses that fulfilled my required credits. My parents allowed me to pick harder and more challenging curriculums without trying to hold me back. By the time I reached high school, I made about ninety-eight percent of the decisions for my education. My parents were there to make sure I didn’t miss any of the required credits and didn’t become a major procrastinator. During all this time, I wasn’t even thinking about becoming a nurse. This was because there were so many nurses in my family. I saw how hard they worked and how much stress they were under. I wanted to do something different. Preferably something where I could keep my head in research all day. I thought that would be enough to fulfill me. It was a homework assignment that made me change my mind. I was assigned a five-page research paper on my desired future profession and the positive effects it has on the world. I struggled to write this paper. I was undecided on what field of science I wanted to go into. After writing four rough drafts, frustration caused me to start physically pulling my hair out. The problem was not my interest and lack of research in different fields. It was realizing that I desired a more hands-on approach to science and helping humanity that was keeping me from committing to any one profession. At this point, I decided to fake my decision and just write the paper. I decided my last draft would be on the nursing profession. I did some research and began writing my paper. I flew through the writing process. After putting the finishing touches on the final page, I looked at the time and realized it had only taken me about two hours. I re-read that paper looking for grammar errors and making sure that I fulfilled every aspect of the rubric. While doing this, I realized that this paper was not full of fake passion for this profession to just be able to finish my paper. It was a real interest and a belief that this was something I desired to be a part of. After that, I fully committed to the nursing path. I currently attend Western Kentucky University and have one semester left of nursing prerequisites. Then I have two more years until I have my BSN. I hope to work bedside for a handful of years before heading back to school in pursuit of becoming a nurse practitioner. I love every class and am thankful for the homeschooling background that gave me both the dream and the ability to become a nurse.

There are two main reactions I receive when telling someone I'm pursuing a nursing degree. The first is a raised eyebrow followed by people trying to get me to change to something easier. The second is people telling me how proud they are of me for picking such a financially stable career. Both these reactions make me sad. I can never truly explain how passionate I am about the field or how much I love my classes and professors. I walk away from every one of these interactions wishing I said something different. If I could sit down and talk to these people for just a bit longer, I could make them understand. I am not doing this for the money. I am pursuing this because of my family, my interactions with patients, and my love of continued education. My family is rich with health care workers. I have vivid memories of sitting at the Thanksgiving dinner table and listening to all the colorful hospital stories. My mother's stories were always my favorite. She still amazes me to this day. The amount of compassion she can freely give in any situation is impossible for a normal human being. She has always spoken highly of the profession. This was what first piqued my interest in nursing school. I desire nothing more than to be able to offer the same competent and compassionate care that my mother gives on a day-to-day basis. I believe nursing provides me with the best opportunity to do this. As soon as I knew I wanted to become a nurse, I became a Patient Care Tech. Some people have told me that being a tech made them drop nursing school. However, it did the exact opposite for me. I loved people able to provide care for people in the hard moments. Seeing how brave my patients were in the face of heartbreaking situations shaped who I am today. Even though I loved my job as a PCT, I got hired during the COVID craziness. On my first day off of orientation, I witnessed my first patient die. I was completely numb that day until I clocked out and got to my car. The ride home was full of tears and that was just the start of tear-filled car rides home. Part of what made this so hard was how helpless I felt. As a tech, all I could do was be a hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on. I desperately wanted to do more. This has made me pursue furthering my education to better serve my future patients. The last thing that made me want to get a degree in nursing was the opportunities for further education in the field. I would consider myself a lover of the learning process. I fully enjoyed all of my classes even the most hated nursing prerequisite classes such as Anatomy and Chemistry. As a nurse, I will be able to become a lifelong learner. I am currently working towards my BSN at Western Kentucky University but hope to one day become a nurse practitioner. Many reasons made me want to pursue a degree in nursing. These range from positive family role models to a love of learning. However, I don't think I would be as drawn to the field if I did not see a need. In my community, there is a shortage of nurses. I see this taking a toll on both the patients and the healthcare workers. I want nothing more than to be a part of the generation that fills the healthcare shortage.